Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was awarded a Grammy Trustees Award on Saturday, and Apple senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, accepted the award on his behalf.

The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences awards its Grammy Trustees Award every year to "individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording." Past recipients include Walt Disney and Dick Clark.

Jobs was recognized on Saturday as part of the Grammy Special Merit Awards, winning a trustee award for his part in creating the iPod and iTunes, and the effect both have had on the music industry.

Cue, accepting the award for Jobs, said people first questioned why Apple would make a music player when the first iPod was unveiled in 2001. He said that Apple chose to make the iPod because they loved music, and Jobs believed it's always good to do something you love.

"Steve was a visionary, a mentor, and a very close friend," Cue said. "I had the incredible honor of working with him for the last 15 years. Accepting this award means so much to me, because music meant so much to him."

Jobs won the award along with Dave Bartholomew, a prominent New Orleans band leader and arranger, and Rudy Van Gelder, an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.

That Jobs was awarded the Grammy was first announced in December, but the statue was not officially handed over until Saturday. A formal acknowledgement will be made during the Grammy Awards telecast Sunday evening.

The award is the second Grammy given to Jobs. Apple won a technical Grammy award in 2002.